A three-goal third period turned a close game between the St Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks in a 7-3 win for the Blues on home ice.
The Blues recalled Zach Sanford from the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League and paid dividends with a goal and two assists in the win.
“I didn’t know exactly how it would go,” Sanford said. “I came in and tried to play with confidence. I got a great opportunity and I think I’ve done a good job of taking advantage of it for now. My linemates (Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron) have been a great help, the whole team as well. Hopefully, I can keep playing this way.”
Ryan O’Reilly, Alex Pietrangelo, Tyler Bozak, and Alexander Steen scored for St Louis.
“We played a much more complete game. I think when they gained momentum, we didn’t break. We stuck with it. We just stuck together tonight, and it was nice to see. I thought we played a more complete game, that’s for sure,” O’Reilly said after the win that pushed the Blues to 3-4-3.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals in the win; the Blues held a closed door meeting after their dismal loss this week to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“This is really emotional for us,” Tarasenko said. “Everyone understands how important this game was. The most important thing now is don’t think it’s over. It’s not the end of the season, so now we have stuff to build on. I told you two days ago guys are going to put 100 percent out there.”
Jake Allen got the start for St Louis but was injured in the middle frame; he made 16 saves. Chad Johnson, finished the game and made five saves,
Chicago got two goals from Patrick Kane and a single marker from Artem Anisimov.
“I think they just outplayed us,” Kane said. “Obviously, when you’re getting outplayed, you’re going to take some more penalties. That’s kind of something that’s been troubling us the first start of the season. We seem to be in the box a little bit too much, it kind of halts our game and our momentum. It’s something to work on.”
[WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Blues highlights]
Corey Crawford made 30 saves in the loss as the Hawks dropped to 6-3-2.
“I still think the game was there to be had but unfortunately, we weren’t good enough and we weren’t at our best for whatever reason. Give them some credit, they moved it around on the power play and capitalized on their chances, but I still think the game was to be had. It was up for grabs, but it wasn’t good enough at the end of the day,” Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keithsaid after the loss.
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